


Little Talks

by startaroux



Category: One Piece
Genre: Food, Friendship, Gen, Nostalgia, Reminiscing, Self Confidence Issues, can't believe found family isn't a tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:14:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26434039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startaroux/pseuds/startaroux
Summary: a series of short dialogue requests from tumblr
Relationships: Brook & Roronoa Zoro, Dracule Mihawk & Roronoa Zoro, Franky & Sanji, Franky & Tony Tony Chopper, Monkey D. Luffy & Sabo
Comments: 8
Kudos: 65





	1. Zoro & Brook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> subject: random people they remember

“Hey, Brook?”

“Yes, Zoro?” Brook turned his head to look over at the swordsman. He had settled down next to him a while ago to rest, but only now had he chosen to speak.

“You had a crew before this one, right?” Zoro asked without looking at him. “Were you close?”

“Mm.” Brook nodded, wondering why Zoro of all people would be asking him about this. Perhaps simple curiosity. “Yes, I did. They were my beloved friends.”

“Do you ever…” Zoro started and then scratched the back of his head. “Do you ever want to talk about them?”

Brook frowned at that, as much as he could without a face, at least. He’d never considered bringing the subject of his late friends up to his new ones; he’d always seen the two as completely separate. Different lifetimes. But--

“Yes.” He blurted out, surprising even himself. “Yes, I think I would like that.”

“So, tell me.” Zoro was finally looking at him now, chin in hand, elbow resting on his knee. “What kind of crazy shit did a bunch of old pirates get up to back in the day?”

“Well,” Brook chuckled and thought for a moment about his old friends. “There was Clive.. He was a wild fellow. Always the center of attention, always the life of the party, and so on; you know the type.”

“Heh. Sure do.”

“Sweet Erna was so considerate of others. She would make little hand-drawn cards for birthdays and celebrations.” If Brook had lips they’d be turned up into a soft smile. “She even made a gorgeous one for me when I was feeling under the weather once. Oh, I do wish I still had that…”

“I knew someone like that,” Zoro said, pulling Brook’s mind out the darkness it was threatening to drift into. “Emil. One time I sprained my ankle while I was training out in the middle of a field and he gave me a piggyback ride all the way to the dojo.”

“That was certainly kind of him.”

“It was,” Zoro agreed, feeling nostalgia at the thought of his village for the first time in a while. “He even helped me ice it when we got back.”

The two were silent for a moment, nothing but the sound of gulls overhead to disturb them. Zoro spoke up again first.

“Listen. If you ever feel like talking about them again, just come find me, okay?”

“That... would be lovely.” Brook leaned back against the wall behind him, a feeling of comfort washing over him and gratitude for this means of catharsis. “Thank you.”

Zoro smiled, eyes closed as though he were ready for a nap. “What are friends for?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](https://ruskaina.tumblr.com/) || [Twitter](https://twitter.com/startaroux)


	2. Sanji & Franky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> subject: cola

"Here's your cola, Franky." Sanji set a cold glass bottle on the table in front of his crewmate and walked back into the kitchen to start on dinner.

"Y'know," Franky took a long sip before pulling the bottle away from his mouth with an unnecessary 'ahh' sound. "Robin told me that in one sea, they call this stuff 'coke' and in another, they call it 'pop.'"

"Well I call it disgusting," Sanji growled, adding sea king stock into the pot in front of him. "I'll never understand how you drink that crap every day."

"It fuels me, bro!"

"It's pure sugar, _bro_ ," Sanji shot back, not keen to be argued with on the subject of nutrition, of all things. "Why couldn't you have picked something like tea or water or, hell, even _coffee_ to run off of?"

"Oh, lil bro…" Franky's voice dropped an octave. "You do _not_ want to see me on coffee."

Sanji felt a chill run up his spine and turned to look at his friend.

"W-what happens to you on coffee?" he asked, suddenly very apprehensive about the weird turn this conversation took. But Franky didn't answer. 

"Franky..? What happens?"

Without a word, the shipwright stood up and drained the rest of his cola, set his empty bottle on the table and left Sanji alone in the kitchen with nothing but a boiling pot of sea king stock and his own thoughts to keep him company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](https://ruskaina.tumblr.com/) || [Twitter](https://twitter.com/startaroux)


	3. Zoro & Brook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> subject: good food

"Is it… Good?" Brook eyed Zoro up and down as he continued to stuff his face full of the chicken and rice that had been left over for him after dinner.

The two of them were the only ones left in the galley after that night’s meal, as Zoro had been on watch earlier and it was Brook’s turn for dish duty tonight.

Zoro paused his zealous chewing for a moment before responding with a simple “mmph” as he shoveled down the last few bites. Only _after_ his plate was thoroughly cleared did he speak up.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said, tossing his fork down onto the plate with a clatter. “Food’s food, you know? Nothin’ to get excited about.”

“ _Yoho!_ Well, I know of exactly two people on this ship who would fervently disagree with you on that, my dear friend,” Brook laughed, picking up the plate Zoro had already scraped clean. Not a single grain of rice left on it.

“I’m serious,” Zoro responded, now idly scratching at a spot on the table in front of him. “Food is nourishment, and nourishment is what gives me the strength to swing my swords every day. Shouldn’t really matter if it’s _good_ or not…”

“Hmm.” Brook wasn’t quite sure what to say to that line of thinking. Zoro wasn’t _wrong_ , per se, but the way he’d nearly inhaled that chicken dish told a different story.

“But--”

“But..?”

Zoro heaved a sigh, crossing his arms and turning his head to the side like the words he was about to say were going to be the most difficult words he’d ever uttered in his life.

“Yeah,” Zoro said quietly. “It was really good. Food’s always good on this ship.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](https://ruskaina.tumblr.com/) || [Twitter](https://twitter.com/startaroux)


	4. Zoro & Mihawk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> subject: violence

“You’re far too violent with it,” Mihawk chided, studying his protege's work with disapproving eyes. “Keep a close eye on the way your wrist is turned and cut with a smooth, steady motion.”

“Ha! Right,” Zoro shot back, refusing to abandon his harsh movements one bit. “You’re hardly one to talk about anyone being ‘too violent.’ Give me a break.”

“You should heed my warnings, Roronoa.” Mihawk wasn’t going to give up on this, apparently, if the tone of his voice was anything to go by. “If you continue on this path you’re treading, all that lies ahead of you will be destruction and ruin.”

Zoro sighed, frustrated. He’d been at it all day and was seeing little to no development whatsoever. He was tired, his back hurt, and things were just not turning out how he’d hoped they would. 

Maybe he was right. Maybe ferocity wasn’t always the answer after all.

“So,” Zoro said carefully, “you’re saying I _shouldn’t_ cut it with all my strength?”

Mihawk nodded in approval, perhaps recognizing that Zoro was finally willing to listen to his instructions.

“Exactly,” he responded, taking up his shears. “You want to be as gentle with it as possible or you’ll risk bruising the stem.”

Zoro watched diligently as Mihawk grasped a part of the rose bush in front of him between two fingers and carefully, expertly snipped a dead bud from the end of it.

“See there?” Mihawk said, proudly examining the rest of his work. “Pruning a rose bush is all about care and attention.”

“And sometimes a violent hand will hurt more than it will help,” Zoro added, frowning at the pitiful little bush that sat in his own plot.

“Looks as though you’re finally starting to understand, Roronoa.” Mihawk stood and dusted off the dirt clinging to his trousers. “Now. Help me find the Humandrills so we can work on your swordplay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](https://ruskaina.tumblr.com/) || [Twitter](https://twitter.com/startaroux)


	5. Luffy & Sabo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> subject: stars

It was late. Far too late for anyone else to be awake after the day they'd all just had, but for some reason, Sabo still heard the shuffling of footsteps behind him.

"Sabo?"

Ah, of course.

"Yeah, Luffy?" He looked over his shoulder at his little brother, hair still wild from the after-battle nap he’d taken. He really never changed, did he? "What's up?"

"I woke up and you weren't there, so I thought…" Luffy trailed off with a frown before shuffling over to sit next to Sabo and watch the sky.

"You thought I'd left without telling my own brother goodbye?" Sabo asked, ruffling his hair like it hadn’t been nearly a decade since the last time he did it. "Please, what do you take me for?”

Luffy’s chuckle was like music to his ears. He’d forgotten that sound before, but he’d be damned if he forgot it again.

“Can you blame me?” Luffy asked. His words were void of any bitterness at all, but they were still so quiet, so unlike him.

Sabo didn’t respond, didn’t need to. He’d felt the stab of guilt at not being there when his brothers needed him a thousand times already. Now was not the time for that. He could be here  _ now _ for Luffy. And so he would.

“Which one do you think is him?”

“Hm?” Sabo looked over at Luffy in question, but his brother was looking up at the stars. “You mean…”

“Ace,” Luffy replied simply, as though it were such an easy thing to talk about. “I lived on an island with no people for the past two years, and the stars were always so clear at night. Sometimes I’d just sit and try to figure out which one was him.”

“Well, let’s see.” Sabo laid back fully on the ground so he could get a clearer picture of the night sky in all its glory. “He’ll be one of the brighter ones, for sure. Not too crowded by other stars, but still right in the middle of everything.”

Sabo felt Luffy flop down next to him as he searched the sky as well. 

“That’s exactly what I thought too,” Luffy said, lifting his hand to point, “but I never could decide between that one aaaand that one way over there.”

“Oh, the one on the left, for sure,” Sabo said with finality, not really understanding  _ what _ made him so certain about it, just that he was certain. It felt right, maybe.

“Yeah… That’s him.” Luffy’s voice was almost a whisper. “The other one’s way too far away, isn’t it.”

And that was enough, wasn’t it? He’d never stay too far away from them, even now.

Ace’s star… Whether it was really him or not, Sabo couldn’t know. But even after leaving Dressrosa and going his separate way from Luffy once again, he still found himself unable to keep from staring up at it on clear nights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](https://ruskaina.tumblr.com/) || [Twitter](https://twitter.com/startaroux)


	6. Franky & Chopper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> subject: noses

"Hey, tiny bro! I have this _super_ cool new design I think you'll—"

Franky stopped his sentence short, metal body wedged halfway through the infirmary door when he caught sight of Chopper peering into a small mirror on his desk.

"Uh. Tiny bro?" He asked, a tad confused at the intensity with which the doctor was staring at himself. “You alright there?”

“Huh?” Chopper startled, knocking the mirror over and nearly falling off the stool he was perched on top of. “Oh! Yeah, I’m just- I was- uh…”

Franky opted not to reply and let Chopper continue working through his own thoughts to form the words he needed.

“I was looking at my nose,” he finally said, glancing away at nothing and scratching at his ear with a hoof. 

“Why, did somethin’ happen?” Franky asked, trying to wedge himself just a bit further into the room so he could get a better look at the reindeer. The little dot of blue was still there and nothing seemed off to him. “Is somethin’ wrong with it?”

“Well, technically… Yes.” Chopper looked back up at Franky with sad eyes. “It’s blue.”

“Wasn’t it always blue, though? The most _super_ of colors?”

Chopper sighed. “But it’s not supposed to be. It’s ugly, it’s... _different_.”

Oh. Franky had heard that story before, or most of it. A child abandoned by his family, cast aside for no reason at all. He’d heard that one, and lived it too. 

“Tiny bro, look at me,” he said. “Tell me what you see when you look at me.”

“I see…” Chopper sniffled, “I just see you. My friend Franky.”

“So, not a hunk o’ steel, not a freaky science experiment. You just see me,” he repeated, pointing to his own metal nose and waiting for Chopper’s nod of confirmation. “And what d’you think I see when I look at you, tiny bro?”

“I…” Chopper shook his head and looked down where his hooves were resting in his lap. “I don’t want to say.”

“I’ll tell you. When I look at you, I see the most _super_ doctor in the world, with the coolest, funkiest little blue nose.” Franky had always spoken from the heart, and he wasn’t about to stop now. “Not only are you my friend, but you’re the cuddliest, cutest one I’ve got, so you’d better not go changin’ yourself, y’hear?”

Chopper sniffled and nodded and Franky wished he wasn’t so magnificently bulky for once so he could squeeze in the door and hug him.

“Lovin’ yourself is hard, tiny-bro,” Franky continued. “When I first put myself back together, I hated _everything_ ; my nose, my chin, my arms… But I’m unique, y’know? One-of-a-kind. And now… well it was a long journey, but now I wouldn’t trade my _super_ bod for anything.”

That had Chopper giggling. "I guess it _is_ a pretty color…" Chopper hopped down from his stool and waddled over to push Franky's metallic nose. "And don't forget your nose can do _this_!"

In an instant, one curly ponytail popped out of the top of his head and right into his face and Chopper fell over, rolling around in hysterics at the sight. If anything, he looked to be in _super_ high spirits now.

Yeah, Franky wouldn't change this for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](https://ruskaina.tumblr.com/) || [Twitter](https://twitter.com/startaroux)


End file.
